Acts 12:2

Mace New Testament

he caus'd James the brother of John to be beheaded.

Parallel Translations

Simplified Cowboy Version
He had James killed with a sword. James was one of the twelve original cowboys (the brother of John).

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

Bible in Basic English
And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.

Darby Translation
and slew James, the brother of John, with the sword.

New King James Version
Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Christian Standard Bible®
and he killed James, John's brother, with the sword.

World English Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he slew James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Weymouth's New Testament
and James, John's brother, he beheaded.

King James Version (1611)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sword.

Literal Translation
And with a sword he did away with James the brother of John.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for Iames the brother of Ihon, him he slewe with the swerde.

Amplified Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword;

American Standard Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Revised Standard Version
He killed James the brother of John with the sword;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he kylled Iames the brother of Iohn with the swerde:

Update Bible Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Young's Literal Translation
and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,

New Century Version
He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword.

New English Translation
He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.

Berean Standard Bible
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

Contemporary English Version
He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John.

Complete Jewish Bible
and he had Ya‘akov, Yochanan's brother, put to death by the sword.

English Standard Version
He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sword.

George Lamsa Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Hebrew Names Version
He killed Ya`akov, the brother of Yochanan, with the sword.

International Standard Version
He even had James the brother of John killed with a sword.Matthew 4:21; 20:23;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And he killed with the sword Jakub the brother of Juhanon.

Murdock Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

New Living Translation
He had the apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword.

New Life Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.

English Revised Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

New Revised Standard
He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And slew James the brother of John with a sword;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he killed James, the brother of John, With the sword.

King James Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Lexham English Bible
So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sworde.

Easy-to-Read Version
He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed with a sword.

New American Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.

Good News Translation
He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he slowe bi swerd James, the brothir of Joon.

Contextual Overview

¹ About that time, king Herod Agrippa began to persecute some of the church. ² he caus'd James the brother of John to be beheaded. ³ and perceiving that the Jews were pleas'd with this, he proceeded to secure Peter during the feast of unleavened bread: ⁴ having apprehended Peter, he put him into prison, appointing a detachment of sixteen soldiers to guard him, intending to have him brought to publick execution, after Easter.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

James: Matthew 4:21, Matthew 4:22, Matthew 20:23, Mark 10:35, Mark 10:38

with: 1 Kings 19:1, 1 Kings 19:10, Jeremiah 26:23, Hebrews 11:37

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 17:36 - seeing Psalms 37:14 - wicked Daniel 11:33 - yet Matthew 10:2 - James Matthew 23:34 - ye Matthew 24:9 - shall they Mark 1:19 - James Mark 6:21 - when Mark 10:39 - Ye Luke 6:14 - James Luke 11:49 - and some Luke 21:16 - and some Acts 1:13 - Peter

Cross-References

Romans 4:11
and he received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the justification by that faith, which the uncircumcised have: that he might be the father of all those who believe, tho' they are uncircumcised, that it might be accounted to them also for righteousness:

Galatians 3:7
so hence ye know, that it is they who believe who are the children of Abraham.

Galatians 3:14
that the blessing promised to Abraham might come on the Gentiles thro' Jesus Christ; that we by believing might receive the spirit that was promised.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. This was James, the son of Zebedee, whom our Lord told, that he should be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with, Matthew 20:22 meaning the baptism of martyrdom; and he was the first martyr among the apostles: the death he was put to was one of the four capital punishments among the Jews, and was reckoned by them the most disgraceful of them all, and was inflicted upon deceivers of the people; and such an one James was thought to be e.

e Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 1, 3. & 11. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he killed ... - He caused to be put to death with a sword, either by beheading, or piercing him through. The Roman procurators were entrusted with authority over life, though in the time of Pilate the Jews had not this authority.

James, the brother of John - This was the son of Zebedee, Matthew 4:21. He is commonly called James the Greater, in contradistinction from James, the son of Alpheus, who is called James the Less, Matthew 10:3. In this manner were the predictions of our Saviour respecting him fulfilled, Matthew 20:23, “Ye shall indeed drink of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 12:2. He killed James the brother of John with the sword. — This was James the greater, son of Zebedee, and must be distinguished from James the less, son of Alpheus. This latter was put to death by Ananias the high priest, during the reign of Nero. This James with his brother John were those who requested to sit on the right and left hand of our Lord, see Matthew 20:23; and our Lord's prediction was now fulfilled in one of them, who by his martyrdom drank of our Lord's cup, and was baptized with his baptism. By the death of James, the number of the apostles was reduced to eleven; and we do not find that ever it was filled up. The apostles never had any successors: God has continued their doctrine, but not their order.

By killing with the sword we are to understand beheading. Among the Jews there were four kinds of deaths:

1. Stoning;

2. burning;

3. killing with the sword, or beheading; and,

4. strangling.

The third was a Roman as well as a Jewish mode of punishment. Killing with the sword was the punishment which, according to the Talmud, was inflicted on those who drew away the people to any strange worship, Sanhedr. fol. iii. James was probably accused of this, and hence the punishment mentioned in the text.